The Keyblade and the Orphanage
by xxWinterxxRosexx
Summary: Sora has been given a special mission to protect an orphanage on the planet earth. Heartless have been attacking the children mercilessly! Luckily, it's Sora, Riku, and Kairi to the rescue! At least... we hope so. Romance & Humor & Action! Please R
1. The Letter

CHAPTER ONE

Sora took in a deep sigh and looked blankly out of the dirt stained window beside him. It had been a whole year since he last saw Riku and Kairi… but that was all about to change. He looked down at the letter in his hands, reading its contents over and over again. He just couldn't believe it.

_Dear Sora Wataya,_

_I am pleased to inform you that you have been given a special mission along with two other juveniles that you may or may not recognize. As you know, the heartless have been scarce around these areas due to your splendid work back in the Hollow Bastion. Unfortunately, they've been extremely bothersome in another world not to far from here. I know that you've been living in traverse town for quite some time now…and I'm sure you're anxious to see some action. Well, you'll be happy to know that the world "earth" is extremely infested by heartless! Leon, Yuffie, Donald, and Goofy are hard at work fighting off the most of them… but I'm afraid that one area of the world is still in great need of some assistance. It is called the Bayside City Orphanage. It's a special home for children with no mother or father. _

Sora swallowed hard. He could relate to that.

_The heartless have been coming time and time again to the orphanage, and the officials are afraid that the children might be in horrible danger. The folks who run the orphanage are needed urgently in New York City, and there is nobody to take care of the children. That's where you come in. Accompanied by Riku and Kairi, you are going to be in charge of protecting those children at all costs. I'm aware of your work in the past, and I trust you fully with this mission. Cid has already prepared your gummi ship, and you should be leaving for earth Monday afternoon. Good luck Sora!_

_Sincerely, King Mickey _

Sora stared at the letter for a long time. It was the first time in an entire year he had been assigned a mission. And though he felt a little uncertain about the situation, he couldn't hide his feeling of excitement.

Earth. He had always heard about that place… but never actually seen it. It's always exciting to discover new places. Especially when you know you're two best friends are going to be there.


	2. Time to go!

**Authors Note: **

**Hey guys… sorry about the totally lame chapter one. I decided to start out with a little chapter considering this is my first fanfic. But I've had this idea for a fanfic in my head for like… EVER! Please make sure to review because I'd love to see what you all think. And thank you to generic soda for saying all those nice things in your review! Well… enjoy! **

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Sora gripped the note tightly in his hands and gulped nervously at the thought of the heartless. Stupid heartless… he thought, attacking innocent children… don't they ever give up?

Suddenly, the door swung open to reveal a very scruffy looking man with an odd looking block in his hands.

Sora smiled. "Oh, hey Cid!"

The man returned the smile and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, are ya ready to go?" he asked.

"Go? Go where?" Sora looked at him, confused.

"To earth of course! Didn't you get the note?"

"Oh… right. Sorry, I forgot." Sora sighed as he looked down at his hands.

"Hey, no problem kid. Just meet me down at the shop when yer ready."

"Alright. Thanks Cid."

The door closed and the man was gone.

The wind blew quietly past the buildings of the empty town. Traverse town wasn't what you'd call a big place, but it was filled with shops and houses. Hardly anybody lived there anymore.

Sora ran his fingers through his chestnut colored hair as he approached the shop.

He just couldn't believe it… there it was. His gummi ship! That beautiful ship that he hadn't seen for over a year!

Suddenly, a tall figure with messy blonde hair and black clothing emerged from behind the shop. He held a large sword in his hand, and his dark cape draped casually over his arm.

"Cloud?" Sora strained to see in the faint light.

Cloud smiled and planted his sword firmly in the ground. "Hey! I heard you were going to earth."

Sora straightened up proudly. "Yep! Earth. Have you ever been there?"

Cloud rubbed his arm and fiddled with the lining of his cape. "Once," he replied. "But I don't really remember what it was like. It was a very long time ago."

"Oh." Sora said, slightly disappointed.

Cloud looked up at Sora curiously. "So, are you excited about seeing your friends again?"

The thought brought a sudden pain to Sora's heart. He had been thinking for a long time about the matter, and quite frankly, he had no idea what to expect.

"Well… yes, of course. But… I'm not really…" he stammered. "Um… I don't really…um…"

"You're not sure of what to expect?" Cloud finished his sentence.

Sora sighed. "Yeah. Pretty much."

"Well, I'm sure it'll turn out alright. You know… those kids at the orphanage really need your help. Do you think your up for a little babysitting?"

Sora shrugged. "Sounds easy enough to me!"

"Well, don't take it lightly." Said Cloud with sincerity in his voice. "Children can be pretty tough to deal with sometimes."

"How old are they?"

"All different ages. I think the youngest one is three… and the oldest one is eleven."

Sora smiled with confidence. "No problem! This'll be a piece of cake."

"I get the feeling you'll be good with kids." Cloud said with a smile. "And I'm sure Kairi will be too…"

"Yeah, it's Riku I'm worried about…" said Sora with a smirk. "He's not exactly the most gentle person I've ever met.

Suddenly, footsteps began impending towards them and Cid emerged from behind the shop.

"Hey Cloud! Ready to go, Sora?" he said.

Sora gulped nervously and looked at the gummi ship. "Ready! I think…"

"Good!" Cid said with smile. "Cloud here is gonna drive you, 'cause I'm sure you've forgotten how to drive one of these things by now."

Sora grinned sheepishly. "Uhh… yeah, kind of."

"No problem." Said Cloud, climbing into the drivers seat. "Come on, let's go!"

Sora took one last look around traverse town until finally getting into the passengers seat and closing the door.

"Good Luck!" Cid called after them as the engine started.

Sora looked out the window and took in another deep sigh. Earth. Riku. Kairi.

Children.

_Oh man… this is going to be interesting, _sora thought to himself.

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**Yippee! Another chapter done... next time... when he actually gets to earth!**

**Sora: Can I please just get to earth now?**

**Laura(me): I'm getting there... be patient!**

**Riku: so... when do I get to eat the little children?**

**Laura: -sigh- we have some work to do...**


	3. Are we there yet?

**A/N: Oh joy. Next chappie! It took really long to update though… sorry about that.**

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Riku sighed, looking disappointedly out the window to his right. This trip was taking an awfully long time… he wanted so much just to shout "ARE WE THERE YET!", but he didn't want to be a nuisance.

"You okay?" A voice asked from beside him.

Riku snapped from his dazed and turned to look at his companion.

"What? Oh… um, yeah. I'm fine…" he replied, shaking his head as if to banish any negative thoughts.

"You don't look fine…" the voice retorted.

Riku took a deep breath. "Leon… trust me. I'm just a little nervous, that's all."

"You shouldn't be nervous… you'll do fine."

"I'm not so sure…"

Leon gripped the steering wheel tighter and shifted his glance over in Riku's direction. "What do you mean? You're wonderful with a sword… I'm sure you'll…"

"That's not it!" Riku cut him off. His voice was sharp, and for a moment it made Leon flinch.

"Well… then what is it?" Leon asked.

Riku hesitated. He hesitated because he didn't really know how to answer. Why did he feel this way? He was scared… and angry… and sad… all at the same time.

And he hated it.

He wanted nothing more than it to go away.

"I just…" he began, "I… I guess I just don't know what to expect."

It almost surprised him how terribly weak his voice sounded.

Leon looked at him sympathetically. He of all people knew what it felt like to be lost or confused. It's an awful feeling… one that you can never understand until you've felt it yourself.

"Well… then try not to expect anything at all." Leon said calmly, keeping his eyes on the open darkness of space ahead of him. "Just let the feelings come as they come."

Riku cocked a brow. "But that doesn't make any sense!"

"Of course it does. Just think about it." Leon sighed deeply.

Riku frowned. That wasn't exactly the answer that he wanted to hear. No one really told him what he wanted to hear anymore… it was all like one big disappointment.

Except…

Well…

Sora and Kairi, that is. King Mickey had notified him that the two would be helping him on this mission. The mission explained in that vague letter signed by a king.

Riku couldn't help but wonder...

Wonder what was in store for him with those two.

_They've probably changed…_he thought. _I wonder what they look like…_

Riku closed his eyes and tried to imagine his friends as what they might have become after an entire year without them.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't help but imagine them just as they were when he last laid his eyes on them.

Sora… with his comely smile and huge sapphire eyes. The courage of a warrior... and the persistence of wild fire.

And Kairi… with her contagious laugh and beautiful amethyst colored eyes that seemed to go on forever.

It's the kind of thing you never forget.

_What will they say when they see me again? _

_Are they the same fun-loving kids I always knew?... or have they changed?_

_And… do they…_

_Do they hate me?_

_It would be hard to blame them…_

Riku took in another sigh and leaned back in his seat. He didn't want to think about this anymore.

"We're here!" Cloud announced.

Sora lifted his head excitedly and looked out the window ahead of him.

A round, blue sphere floated out ahead amongst the darkness of space. It was beautiful… yet strange. Sora had never seen anything like it.

When they had finally landed safely on the surface of the strange planet, Cloud opened the cockpit and unlatched his safety restrained.

Sora followed, and got up out of his seat anxiously to see what this world had in store for him.

Cloud quickly reached into his pocket to pull out a small piece of paper.

Sora stopped suddenly to look at the paper. "What's that?" he asked.

Cloud handed it to Sora. "Directions." He replied. "Use them to get to the old bus station where your friends will be meeting you."

Sora accepted the paper gratefully and smiled.

He then looked excitedly out the cockpit to see the strange landscape out ahead of him. It was so odd… yet almost beautiful. Beautiful and lonely.

There seemed to be nobody around for miles.

"Does anybody even live around here?" Sora looked curiously at Cloud.

Cloud ran his fingers through his hair and pulled his cape a little farther over his shoulders. "Yes. There are a couple shops and houses farther down… plus the orphanage where you will be working."

"Oh… right."

"Are you ready for this?"

Sora straightened his back confidently. "Of course! I was born ready."

Cloud chuckled. "Alright then…" he stepped back slightly to let Sora pass.

"Good luck, keyblade master."

Sora nodded reassuringly and walked out of the ship.

_I'm ready._

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**yay! Next time... the reunion of our three heroes! Thankyou so much to ShadowShapeshifterAndherCat and to genericsoda for your reviews! They really encourage me to write more. **

**Sora: Thank goodness... you finally freakin' updated!**

**Me: Shut up! I don't always have time... I have a life you know!**

**Riku: No you don't.**

**Me: 0o... he's right...**


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